One of my all time favourite episodes, and one that demonstrates the great variation of the last series. We see Steed at his most vulnerable in a long time and being persecuted by a wonderful gang of out there villains such as the wonderfully barmy Circe, and great visuals and direction by Robert Fuest add up to an altogether different Avengers episode.

I agree, it is sheer brilliance. Tom Adams shines as the villain, a good match for Steed (his erudite and ruthless side, as Merlin in The Morning After was for his sly and mischievous side). It's a shame he never got similarly challenging screen roles again.

The grit and pain of this episode, when compared to more whimsical New Avengers entries like Target!, shows up the false contrast between the popular portrayal of the 1960s series as "witty"/whimsical and the 1970s TNA as "tougher"/more serious. There was a natural progression going on, and the Avengers always mixed humour with hardness.

And it was never harder than here, in Take-Over, an essential episode. Proving the Avengers wasn't fluff, and could do hard-hitting drama with the best of them.

This episode is the very definition of "tension" and "suspense", but looks beautiful (and bleak).

10/10. I wouldn't want all Avengers episodes to be like this, but I am glad one is._________________Last watched: The Man in the Mirror.

Last edited by Frankymole on Sat Sep 14, 2013 5:04 am; edited 1 time in total

One of my favourites this one. I was fortunate to be able to interview Tom Adams last year and we watched Take-Over as we talked. He was amazed at how good it was (and how good he was!) although he didn't remember a great deal about the actual filming. He did remember trying it on with Hilary Pritchard though and was given very short shrift apparently _________________"No ma'm, I'm a Texan."

I can only agree with everything that's been said. It's an episode of claustrophobic, bleak, tense body horror, and it works brilliantly. It has this cold, clinical feel that ratchets up the suspense, especially when they juxtapose the surgeries with "civilised" scenes, like the dinner party. Patrick gets to play Steed in survival mode, and puts in a top performances. And I squirm every time I see those neck bandages._________________Last Watched:Who Was That Man I Saw You With?

One of my favourites this one. I was fortunate to be able to interview Tom Adams last year and we watched Take-Over as we talked. He was amazed at how good it was (and how good he was!) although he didn't remember a great deal about the actual filming. He did remember trying it on with Hilary Pritchard though and was given very short shrift apparently

Ah, very cool (as we'd expect from someone so associated with McGill!) - is your Tom Adams interview going to be available to read/buy somewhere?_________________Last watched: The Man in the Mirror.

It's just sitting on my dictaphone at the moment Franky, I must get around to transcribing soon. Tom was the perfect gentleman as you would expect but he kept stopping to watch himself on the screen and exclaim, "Look at me, I was so cool." It wasn't in a big-headed kind of way, he was genuinely surprised at how good he was and I think he regretted not applying himself more around that time._________________"No ma'm, I'm a Texan."

This was a fantastic idea to review the episodes. I have a lot of catching up to do so I have not seen this episode before. I am thrilled to hear everyone liked this so much and that Geoff got to interview one of the best villains ever. Wish that interview was on bonus material but alas Geoff has it What year did you interview him Geoff? And how did it come about? How did you find him anyway?_________________"He likes his tea stirred anti-clockwise."

This was a fantastic idea to review the episodes. I have a lot of catching up to do so I have not seen this episode before. I am thrilled to hear everyone liked this so much and that Geoff got to interview one of the best villains ever. Wish that interview was on bonus material but alas Geoff has it What year did you interview him Geoff? And how did it come about? How did you find him anyway?

He was at an event I was attending last year and I thought I might never get another opportunity to speak to him so myself and a friend of mine approached him and he agreed to speak to us. I actually had Take-Over on my iPad so I played it while we spoke to him, rather like a DVD commentary. It wasn't just about The Avengers though as we also asked him about some of his other work, particularly his Charles Vine films. As I said before, he kept stopping mid sentence to look at himself onscreen and was very impressed with the episode in general. A really nice guy. The same weekend I got to interview someone I'd wanted to speak to for a long time, John Glen, who was an editor on Man In A Suitcase and got his first directorial role on the show. Of course he later went on to direct more Bond films than anyone else._________________"No ma'm, I'm a Texan."

This was a fantastic idea to review the episodes. I have a lot of catching up to do so I have not seen this episode before. I am thrilled to hear everyone liked this so much and that Geoff got to interview one of the best villains ever. Wish that interview was on bonus material but alas Geoff has it What year did you interview him Geoff? And how did it come about? How did you find him anyway?

He was at an event I was attending last year and I thought I might never get another opportunity to speak to him so myself and a friend of mine approached him and he agreed to speak to us. I actually had Take-Over on my iPad so I played it while we spoke to him, rather like a DVD commentary. It wasn't just about The Avengers though as we also asked him about some of his other work, particularly his Charles Vine films. As I said before, he kept stopping mid sentence to look at himself onscreen and was very impressed with the episode in general. A really nice guy. The same weekend I got to interview someone I'd wanted to speak to for a long time, John Glen, who was an editor on Man In A Suitcase and got his first directorial role on the show. Of course he later went on to direct more Bond films than anyone else.

That is so cool Geoff. If I may ask what kind of events were you at? I would have no idea where to find them. But truly wonderful to know about your experience and his reaction since I am thinking he was probably not on any bonus material-if there is any for TNA _________________"He likes his tea stirred anti-clockwise."

Martin Landau's an acting hero. I loved him as the black hat Western tough in an early Twilight Zone episode (the one with the supernatural snake oil salesman), right through to his Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood.

That's a fine pic of Mr Adams. He's still got the imposing look!_________________Last watched: The Man in the Mirror.

Love the Tom Adams story. Wish I'd been there! I did go to a similar event in 1995 attended by Linda Thorson, as well as others with an Avengers connection such as Jane Merrow, Annette Andre, Ed Bishop, Carol Cleveland, and several others. As for Take over, I'll give it 8/10. Great episode with surprisingly realistic acting for this type of genre. The most sinister episode of them all! Rich.

I think a lot of people in the 70s saw The Avengers as too camp, and the 60s in general as too camp, which is why The New Avengers was a lot "grittier". Then people in the 1980s saw that as too camp due to all the flared trousers._________________Last watched: The Man in the Mirror.